Tubular interlocking piling for wall assemblies



Nov. 19, 1968 A. A. CELLA 3,411,305

TUBULAR INTERLOCKING FILING FOR WALL ASSEMBLIES Filed Jan. 23, 1967 BYflrnzazam; F495; 6222; JZFFi/t/ United States Patent Oflice PatentedNov. 19, 1968 3,411,305 TUBULAR INTERLOCKING PILING FOR WALL ASSEMBLIESAlexander A. Cella, Great Notch, N.J., assignor to Alexander A. Celia,Great Notch, and Charles Vmzant, Wharton, NJ.

Filed Jan. 23, 1967, Ser. No. 611,126 4 Claims. (Cl. 61-60) ABSTRACT OFTHE DISCLOSURE A pile unit for use in interconnected tubular piling. Thetubular unit has an interlocking element, L-shaped in cross-section,welded to the exterior surface of the tube, and a second L-shaped,interlocking element and a bead element welded to the exterior surfaceof the tube and spaced from the first connecting element. Two tubularunits are interconnected by sliding an L-shaped element of one into anL-shaped element of a second, with the bead element of the secondmaintaining the engagement of the interlocking elements.

This invention relates to piling, and more particularly, to tubularinterlocking piling.

More specifically, the present invention relates to a tubular pile unitwhich is designed to be connected in interlocking engagement with one ormore like tubular pile units. The tubular unit has a first interlockingelement which is L-shaped in cross-section and is attached to theexterior surface of the tubular unit. There is also provided a secondL-shaped interlocking element and a bead element which is attached tothe exterior surface of the tubular unit. The two tubular units areinterconnected by sliding the L-shaped element of the first interlockingelement into the L-shaped element of a second tubular unit. The beadelement on the second tubular unit maintains the engagement of theinterlocking elements.

Filings for reinforcing the construction of walls, dams, piers, andother abutments are made of sheets of metal having interlocking joints.An example of sheet pilings can be found in the Murray US. Patent No.2,128,428. Interlocking tubular steel pilings have also been used in thepast as shown in US. Patents 2,101,285, 2,090,720, and 3,059,436.However, the interlocking members of tubular pile members used in theprior art are relatively expensive and sometimes present difficulties intheir interconnection.

The tubular pile unit of this invention utilizes a more simple L-shaped,interlocking element, together with an associated bead element, toprovide effective engagement of a series of tubular pile units. Thistubular pile unit may be used in constructing cofferdams, walls, dams,bridge piers, abutments, and other types of walls where strongconstruction is necessary.

Thus, an object of this invention is to provide a tubular pile memberwhich is simple in construction and can be economically manufactured.

Another object is to provide a rigidly constructed, interlocking tubularpile member.

Other objects of the invention will become more apparent from thefollowing description and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the tubular pile;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of two tubular members interconnected.

Referring to FIGURE 1, the tubular pile member consists of the elongatedtubular member 11, which is of substantially uniform cross-section alongits length. The tubular member may be solid, but is usually hollow, asshown in FIGURE 1.

Tubular member 11 has integrally formed with its exterior surface twoL-shaped, interlocking elements 12 and 14 and a bead element 13. EachL-shaped, interlocking element has a long leg 20 and a short leg 21.

The interlocking elements are easily secured to the circumferentialsurface of the tubular member by welding along the length of theinterlocking element on both sides. Any other means for securing theinterlocking elements to the tubular member may be used, but welding isthe simplest and most economical;

The bead element 13 is slightly spaced from the L-shaped, interlockingelement 12. It is the means by which an L-shaped, interlocking elementof one tubular member is maintained in engagement with the interlockingelement of a second tubular member.

The bead element should be spaced along the circumference from theinterlocking element so that when two interlocking elements are engaged,the shorter leg of a first L-shaped, interlocking element will bebearing against the corresponding portion of a second interlockingelement, while the longer leg will be bearing against the bead element,thus maintaining engagement.

As can be seen from FIGURE 2, tubular member 11 is interlocked withtubular member 15. L-shaped, interlocking element 14 slides intointerlocking element 17, and beaded element 18 bears against element 14to prevent the disengagement of the interlocking elements 14 and 17.

The interlocking member design shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 may be used onany diameter tubular pile.

The relative dimensions of the interlocking element to the tubularmember are not fixed, but it has been found desirable to use a l /z-inchlong leg, %-inch short leg, L-shaped element in cooperation with a/2-inch diameter beaded element on a 12-inch diameter tubular member.

The important consideration in determining the relative dimensions ofthe L-shaped elements is that shorter legs of the interlocking elementsmay bear against each other while the beaded element may bear againstthe longer leg, thus maintaining engagement.

Additional strength may be obtained if the shorter legs of theinterlocking elements taper inwardly toward their respective ends asshown in 21a of FIGURE 1, thus providing increased bearing surfaces forengagement of the interlocking elements.

The relative position of the interlocking elements is likewise notfixed. However, the most rigid construction exists when the points ofsecurement of the interlocking members to the tubular member can beconnected by a diameter passing through the center of the tubularmember.

The long leg of the L-shaped, interlocking element may be integrallyformed with the tubular member so that it is at an angle of 060 with thenormal to the circumference of the tubular member. It is preferable ifthe angle is between 30 to 60.

It may be desirable for a particular reinforcement function to beperformed by pile members wherein interconnection of the tubular pilesis not along a single direction. If this is desired, the tubular membersmay be provided with third and fourth interconnecting elements and asecond bead member. These additional interconnecting elements willfacilitate connection of the tubular members in two directions. As withonly two interconnecting elements, it is most desirable that the pointsof securement of the third and fourth interconnecting elements bepositioned so a line connecting the two would be a diameter of thetubular member. If this is the case, lines connecting the centers offour tubular members thus interconnected would form a square.

Although there has been described a preferred embodiment of this novelinvention, many variations and modifications will now be apparent tothose skilled in the art. Therefore, this invention is to be limited,not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appending claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive privilege orproperty is claimed are defined as follows.

I claim:

1. A tubular pile unit designed to be connected in interlockingengagement with one or more like tubular pile units to define a loadbearing wall assembly, said unit comprising:

(a) an elongated, tubular member of substantially uniform cross-section;

(b) a first interlocking element having an L-shaped cross-section formedintegral with the circumferential surface of said tubular member,projecting longitudinally of said tubular member;

(c) a bead element formed integral with the circumferential surface ofsaid tubular member, said bead element extending lingitudinally of saidtubular member substantially parallel to and spaced circumferentiallyfrom said first interlocking element;

((1) a second interlocking element having an L-shaped cross-sectionformed integral with the circumferential surface of said tubular member,said second interlocking element projecting longitudinally of saidtubular member substantially parallel to and spaced circumferentiallyfrom said first interlocking element and the bead element, each of saidfirst and second interlocking elements having uneven legs and each ofsaid elements being attached to the circumferential surface of thetubular member adjacent the remote end of the longer legs of saidelements, wherein the first interlocking element and the bead elementare so spaced circumferentially of the tubular member as to slidablyreceive and engage therebetween the shorter leg of the secondinterlocking element of a mating pile unit to form an effectiveinterlock unit between the first and second interlocking elementswhereby the adjacent portion of the longer leg of said second projectingelement of said mating pile unit is securely positioned against the beadelement on one side and the circumferential surface of thetubularelement on the other side.

2. The tubular pile unit of claim 1, wherein the shorter legs of saidinterlocking elements taper inwardly toward their respective ends toprovide increased bearing surfaces for engagement with the interlockingelements of interlocking pile units.

3. The tubular pile unit of claim 1, wherein the longer leg of saidinterlocking elements is at an angle of 3060 with the normal to thecircumference of said tubular member.

4. A load bearing wall assembly constituted of a plurality of tubularpile units as defined in claim 1, said units being connected ininterlocking engagement with the shorter leg of the second interlockingelement of each mating pile unit engaging with and bearing against thecorresponding portion of the first interlocking element of the tubularpile unit connected thereto, and the adjacent portion of the longer legof the second interlocking element of said mating pile unit engagingwith and bearing against the bead element of said tubular pile unitconnected thereto.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,128,428 8/1930 Murray 6l-60FOREIGN PATENTS 561,765 6/ 1944 Great Britain.

JACOB SHAPIRO, Primary Examiner.

